Where do all these pilots come from?
Discussion
Ok, so there's thousands and thousands of flights every day, coming out of the UK alone.
Where are all these pilots coming from? I appreciate some are ex-military, but what about all the others? I've looked into it and airlines don't train, they palm you off to some company to train you, you pay for you own training (£105,000 seems about the average, with huge £30k lump sums required at different points), and even after that there's no guarantee of a job. And I assume if you can just stump up £100k, you don't need to be doing a job like a pilot because you don't really need the money that much...
Am I missing something here?
Where are all these pilots coming from? I appreciate some are ex-military, but what about all the others? I've looked into it and airlines don't train, they palm you off to some company to train you, you pay for you own training (£105,000 seems about the average, with huge £30k lump sums required at different points), and even after that there's no guarantee of a job. And I assume if you can just stump up £100k, you don't need to be doing a job like a pilot because you don't really need the money that much...
Am I missing something here?
Fittster said:
tfin said:
People don't become pilots for the money.
The average wage in the UK is 25K. What would you say is the average wage of a pilot 5 years after qualifying if they find employment in the industry?A conservative estimate would be about £40K for a first officer with a mid sized airline.
Have a look around www.pprune.org , there's hundreds of pages on the subject.
Don't get me wrong, pilots earn good money but in my opinion people don't become pilots for the money. People want to fulfill their dream so much that they are prepared to pay the tens of thousands of pounds and live on pennies for years just to get qualified - and once they are qualified it's by no means the glamorous lifestyle that society makes out. Many night spent away from home living out of an overnight bag, this is probably why divorce rates are higher for pilots.
Most pay their own way or go through the bank of mum and dad, I went via the military myself to an offshore commercial helicopter role rather than airlines (I do know lots of airline pilots aswell though).
Salaries vary hugely and the once legendary terms and conditions are very much in decline for newcomers. When I looked at BA it was circa £55k for a new joiner on short haul, increasing at £2.5kpa until you got command, which was mooted at about 7-10yrs. Pay scales were slightly more for longhaul and I believe the longhaul co-pilot salary topped out about £120k and captains circa £150k, but my info maybe out of date. New joiners now get less starting salary than that and I believe the increments are circa £1.5k pa instead. BA are one of the best paid in the uk although you could argue that a quicker time to command with Easyjet or Ryanair would make you higher paid than if you had joined BA.
In the helicopter world it varies hugely with offshore and corporate being the big earners. Salaries used to be a poor relation to the airlines but now they're mostly on a parity with most airlines perhaps barring legacy longhaul carriers.
Salaries vary hugely and the once legendary terms and conditions are very much in decline for newcomers. When I looked at BA it was circa £55k for a new joiner on short haul, increasing at £2.5kpa until you got command, which was mooted at about 7-10yrs. Pay scales were slightly more for longhaul and I believe the longhaul co-pilot salary topped out about £120k and captains circa £150k, but my info maybe out of date. New joiners now get less starting salary than that and I believe the increments are circa £1.5k pa instead. BA are one of the best paid in the uk although you could argue that a quicker time to command with Easyjet or Ryanair would make you higher paid than if you had joined BA.
In the helicopter world it varies hugely with offshore and corporate being the big earners. Salaries used to be a poor relation to the airlines but now they're mostly on a parity with most airlines perhaps barring legacy longhaul carriers.
There are two lads in my road have recently qualified as pilots at great expense to their parents, I assume. One has been taken on by a charter airline and the other is still looking though has a "logistics" role with a major airline while he looks around for his first job. It appears quite competitive. I don't think either are really in it for the money. However they tell me that the packages offered by the middle east airlines are very attractive. After starting the one with charter airline was put on short-time meaning that he will only get work during 8 months of the year but his pay is reduced by 2 months so not pro-rata but nonetheless a pain unless he can find other things to do.
I've been watching Worst Place to be a Pilot which is currently running on TV, Channel 4 I think. It's about the life of pilots working for Susi Air in Indonesia. Now that really is what being a pilot is all about! Sensational stuff. Reminds me of my trip to Papua New Guinea in 1999.
R.
R.
The Leaper said:
I've been watching Worst Place to be a Pilot which is currently running on TV, Channel 4 I think. It's about the life of pilots working for Susi Air in Indonesia. Now that really is what being a pilot is all about! Sensational stuff. Reminds me of my trip to Papua New Guinea in 1999.
R.
Hmmm....SET while hot and heavy through mountainous terrain and dodging thunderstorms by eye? Fun when you're 25 I guess. Not so much at my age. Saying that, I was doing something far more dangerous at 25 so whom am I to question it.R.
Still, Susi has given a lot of 250hr guys a crack at making a career for themselves, so good luck to them.
The Leaper said:
I've been watching Worst Place to be a Pilot which is currently running on TV, Channel 4 I think. It's about the life of pilots working for Susi Air in Indonesia. Now that really is what being a pilot is all about! Sensational stuff. Reminds me of my trip to Papua New Guinea in 1999.
R.
For those who don't know the PH going by the name of "Moose." was the focus of last weeks show. He does seem to love it.R.
Chainguy said:
Siko has it spot on. Commercial Airline pilot here, PM me if you want some blunt industry info. There is a load of things I'd be uncomfortable putting into open cyberspace.
I'm sure you;re right, it's probably not all romance and excitement.I've just always wanted to fly, but i guess without deep pockets, it's not going to happen.
Pprune is a good place to start if you're serious, the consensus on there seems to be though to get into a highly paid 'career' first then fly for fun.
There are ways of funding it without spunking £100k+ out of your current account....cadetships, scholarships (chap on here has one for my company at the moment) military flying, instruction etc Not easy but there are ways and means.......
There are ways of funding it without spunking £100k+ out of your current account....cadetships, scholarships (chap on here has one for my company at the moment) military flying, instruction etc Not easy but there are ways and means.......
A lot of bad info here.
Pilots do do it for money.
They get a professional loan from hsbc or somewhere. Costs apps £1k pm to pay back.
But, some uk airlines may pay you £5k after tax as first officer pm. On top of basic there is flight pay, extra hours and pay for working on days off.
A chap I know in Dubai gets chauffeured to work, earns £8k pm, gets a villa paid for him and is 27. Few doctors, lawyers etc earn that in the uk at 27.
Pilots do do it for money.
They get a professional loan from hsbc or somewhere. Costs apps £1k pm to pay back.
But, some uk airlines may pay you £5k after tax as first officer pm. On top of basic there is flight pay, extra hours and pay for working on days off.
A chap I know in Dubai gets chauffeured to work, earns £8k pm, gets a villa paid for him and is 27. Few doctors, lawyers etc earn that in the uk at 27.
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